Titles
There are three types of titles that characters may obtain: Noble, Ecclesiastical and Domain. Titles come with an attached position or responsibility. He who holds the title controls the estate, army, spaceship or function within one of these positions. Noble Titles These are awarded to a character for life and preclude another title holding the same specific title during their lifeform, ie. There may only be one Baron of House Aramiath or Lord of Winterhold. Noble titles, except those obtained through marriage only, are inherited by the rightful heir upon the current holder’s death. Unclaimed Titles If a noble title, namely Earl or Duke or Emperor, is unclaimed a character may claim it if he has the support of enough nobles of the Region or World(s). * To claim an Earl 2/3 of all Lords of the region must be the character's vassals * To claim a Duke 2/3 of all Earls of the world must be the character's vassals * To claim Emperor all the world's Dukes must be the character's vassals. This takes 1 action point. Taking an Estate title To take a Lord title from the current holder, the estate must be captured by an army belonging to a Baron which claims the title. Taking and losing a Earl, Duke or Emperor title There are two ways a character may lose his title as Earl or Duke: #If the last of his estates falls and he is no longer Lord of any estate. The title is now unclaimed and may be claimed by any who has the capability to do so. #If the character is exiled by the Emperor he loses all Earl and Duke titles. The Emperor only loses his title if his house has no more estates. Viscounts and Grand Dukes * When a character gains a second Earl title, he automatically gets the Viscount title. * When a character gains a second Duke title, he automatically gets the Grand Duke title These titles are inheritable. They may be lost if the character is no longer Lord of any estate or he is exiled by the Emperor. They do not need to any longer hold any Earlships or Duchies to retain the grander title. This applies to those who may inherit these titles. Inheriting Noble Titles The Rightful Heir will inherit a title upon the death of the current holder. If a holder of an ecclesiastical title inherits a noble title, he leaves the Church and loses all ecclesiastical titles. Barons The character that inherits the title of Baron of a House becomes the sovereign of that House. If the character who inherits a barony belongs to another house (ie. there are no heirs left in the house), all positions and characters of that house join the new house and the Baron's House is dissolved (game over). Giving Away Lord Titles A Baron may give any Lord title he currently holds to another member of his house for 1 action point. A Baron may not give away his last (only) Lord title away. Ecclesiastical Titles These are given to members of the clergy who are appointed or elected to a particular role. They are for life* but are not inherited. Ecclesiastical titles are given to members of the clergy by a pecking order determined by the peity of their House as they become available. Some ecclesiastical titles have a prequisite title which must be held before the title will be given to the character. Joining the Clergy Any character, except the Baron of a House, may join the clergy provided there is a chapel present at the estate and he is not declared a Heretic. See Acolytes. Elections A new Ecclesiastical title is elected by comparing the members of clergy in a particular region or world(s) and choosing the first suitable candidate from the House with the highest Piety. * Deacons are elected when a chapel is built at an estate or the previous Deacon dies. They must be chosen from adult Acolytes within the region. * Bishops are elected once a year from available Deacons within that region. * Archbishops are elected once a year from available Bishops of that world. * Pontiff's are elected when for the first time all worlds have Archbishops or the previous Pontiff dies. If no suitable candidate exists, another election is held at the beginning of each year until the position is filled. A character may hold the title of Deacon, Bishop, Archbishop and Pontiff at the same time. Domain Titles These are appointments made by a lord or baron. They are for life or until another appointment is made. A character may not hold more than one domain title. A Lord may not hold the title of Tribune or Steward and a Baron may not be Chancellor. Female characters cannot be appointed as Legates See Estate Management, Starship Crew and Army Leaders. Sphere of Influence Domain titles are tied to a House, Estate, Starship, Army or Unit. * There is a maximum of one Chancellor per Noble House * There is a maximum of one Steward and one Tribune per Estate * There is a maximum of one Legate per Army. * There is a maximum of one Captain per Starship. * There is a maximum of one Knight assigned to each Unit. * There may be any number of Squires assigned to each Knight. * There may be any number of Lieutenants or Ensigns assigned to each Starship. * There may be any number of Wards, Ladies-in-waitings assigned to each Lord or Lady.. * There may be any number of Acolytes at an estate with a Chapel. Appointments Each chronum certain unoccupied positions will be sought after by eligible characters: *A character of your house with the right skills will seek the position of Chancellor of the House *A character of your house with the right skills will seek the position of Legate of your army at the same estate. *A chararacter of your house with the right skills will seek the position of Captain of your starship at the same estate. *Any character (including those from other houses) will seek the position of Steward or Tribune if they are at your estate. Additionally, the Lord of an estate may appoint a Tribunes '''or '''Stewards '''whilsts a Baron may appoint a '''Chancellor. The first character to board a Starship becomes its Captain '''whilst all subsequent adults become '''Lieutenants. A character may be chosen as Legate '''when an army is formed or choose to lead an army without one. A character that travels to a foreign estate automatically becomes an '''Emissary (or the Baron can appoint them as an Emissary if they are not already one for whatever reason). Knights Knights are chivalrous titles that must be earned either through Tournaments or by promotion in Ground Combat of a squire. A knight of a Baron's house may be appointed to lead Units within his Armies. Death of Domain Title Holder When they die, the titles held by domain holders is lost with them. New appointments must be made or Knighthoods earned. Loss of Position * When an army or unit is killed outright, any Legates, Knights or Squires with that army are killed. * If a starship is destroyed, the Captain, Lieutenants and Ensigns who survive are moved to the nearest estate and lose their titles. They may only survive if the ship suffers an integrity breakdown or has escape pods in the event of an explosion. * If an estate falls to another house, Stewards and Tribunes retain their position and are exempted from being captured as prisoners like other characters of the old owner's house at the estate. Maturity Apprenticeships end when a character turns 18 and they return to their house's home estate. Female Titles and Female Title Holders Female character may hold all titles except Legate with the same powers as a man. They do not confer a female title to their partner through marriage, ie. the Baron of House Quamrath may be female but his husband is not made a Baroness! Female titles such as Baroness or Lady are not lost when the husband dies but if the new male title holder has a wife or acquires one, the female title is passed to the new holder. e.g. Baron Monkhouse dies and confers his title to his unmarried son. His wife remains Baroness Monkhouse until the son marries and his new wife gains the title, stripping his mother of her title. Female titles have no special powers but do confer honour or glory to the house of their holder. It pays to marry your daughters well. Exile or Heresy If a character is exiled they lose all their noble titles and likewise if they are declared a heretic they lose all their ecclesiastical titles. Table of Titles